Emily Sortor  |  April 21, 2020

Category: E-Cigarette

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Legalized marijuana

A new study published in the JAMA Network Open examined the rates of lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use across the country and showed that cases of injury in states with legalized marijuana were significantly lower than in states that have not legalized marijuana.

The study was conducted by Coady Wing and Ashley C. Bradford at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington, and by Aaron E. Carrol of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Zionsville. High Times explains that the research was conducted by using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

While many vapes contain nicotine, others do contain THC, the chemical in cannabis responsible for the substance’s psychological effects. As a result, the vaping industry intersects with the legality of cannabis, which varies across states. Now, researchers are attempting to better understand how the legality of cannabis might be related to the possible health effects of vaping, which have garnered media attention in recent years, as the vaping epidemic in the United States continues to grow.

The research study found that 1.7 cases of vaping-associated lung injury per million people were reported in states that had legalized marijuana. In stark contrast, those states in which cannabis is illegal had 8.1 cases per million residents. The study also examined those states in which cannabis had been legalized for medical use, as well as states with recreational legalization. For their part, those states in which cannabis is legal for strictly medicinal purposes saw 8.8 cases of vaping-related lung disease per million.

According to the researchers, there tended to be more cases in states prohibiting cannabis use because where there are no legalized, regulated sellers; the market is dominated by unregulated sellers, offering possibly unsafe products.

Are There Health Risks Associated with Illicit Marijuana Markets?

Legalized marijuanaIllustrating the phenomenon, High Times says that the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws executive director Erik Altieri draws a parallel to the health risks that came along with the alcohol prohibition era of the 1920s. In his words, “just like alcohol prohibition gave rise to the illicit production of dangerous ‘bathtub gin,’ marijuana prohibition provides bad actors, not licensed businesses, the opportunity to fulfill consumers’ demand — sometimes with tragic results.”

Information provided by UPI supports this statement, noting that though the best way to avoid vaping-related health risks is to not vape at all, consumers should be aware that the risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals in vapes may be higher with the use of illegal, unregulated vape and e-cigarette products.

Experts who commented on the new cannabis legalization and vape use findings discussed the difficulty of moving vape products between states in which cannabis is legalized and states in which they are not.

Several of these experts were University of Utah School of Medicine critical care experts. They explained that consumers who live in a state in which cannabis is not legal might try to purchase vape products that were produced in a state in which cannabis is legal, in an attempt to get a more reliable product than those illegal products produced without regulation in their home state.

However, even this method is not fail-safe, say the critical care experts. They say that TCH concentrates that are transferred from one state to another might get diluted along the way by players in the illegal cannabis industry interested in maximizing their profit.

What Is the Possible Cause of Vaping-Related Lung Disease?

High Times explains that the dilution could be a culprit behind vaping-related lung injury. According to the news source, vitamin E acetate can be used to dilute cannabis extract. High Times says that the Centers for Disease Control informed the public that vitamin E acetate was likely linked to vaping lung injuries.

This announcement then spurred some states in which cannabis is legal to ban the use of vitamin E acetate in diluting cannabis extract. According to the CDC’s announcement, vitamin E acetate was found in biological samples taken from patients who had lung injuries associated with vape use. Reportedly, the presence of vitamin E acetate in vaping-related lung injury was present across state lines.

The CDC says that vitamin E acetate can be harmless in some forms — it is present in some foods and cosmetics. However, according to the CDC it can be dangerous when inhaled, as it is in vape use, because it can impair lung function. The CDC then said that the government was in the process of developing testing around the presence and effect of vitamin E acetate in vape products.

The CDC reported that specifically, vitamin E acetate was found in the lung fluid samples of 48 out of 51 vaping-related lung injury patients, and was not present in the fluid of any healthy patients.

Join a Free E-Cigarette Heart & Lung Lawsuit Investigation

If you or a loved one developed heart or lung problems after using e-cigarettes containing nicotine and/or THC, you may qualify to join this e-cigarette lung injury lawsuit investigation.Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a free case evaluation by a JUUL e-cigarette injury lawyer.

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